Bed bottom



1. H. s-TERN BED BOTTOM March 19, 1935.

Filed June 8, 1933 l' lzf/f 0 Patented Mar. 19, 1935 UNITED.- STATES PATE) FFicE BED Bo'rtroivr l `Irving Stern, Bostonf'Mass.

Application' June s, 1933, Yserial. Nb. 674.363,)V .u

'f2 claims. v' cl.`5'-Y 1s6) y Ihis inventionl relates to spring bottoms for beds, couches, chairs and .the like. VVFor convenience of description I will generally call it a bedbottom, this term'having the usual signincance in the art as meaningV the part of the bed, couch, chair,lor analogous article of furniture which supports the mattress or Vcushion .n'which the occupant lies or sits'. Bed bottoms ofa great variety have been'made including the familiar box spring,' so called, which includes rows of spiral springs, set with their axes upright,wire

helical'springs to Va frame, etc.

The present invention relates more particularly to that type of bed bottom which-includes a gen-1 erally flat structure connected at its ends to the supporting frame by horizontal helical springs. Its object is-to provide a structure of this nature which will be sufficiently resilient and -at the same time resistant to sagging in the middle, which is firm at the side edges and able to resist the sagging tendency caused by a person sitting on the edge of the bed; which presentsan unbroken expanse of close woven fabric resistant to passage of dust for the protection of the overlying `mattressror cushion; which has means to prevent the covering fabric from puckering and pulling away at the ends; and which canbe manufactured-at low oost and'sold ata'moderate price.

The manner in which these objects areV accomplished and the principles of the invention are explained in connection with the following description of a specific embodiment of the vinvention which 'containsrits preferred form.

In the drawing-, Y

Fig. 1 is a plan View of a resilient bed bottom containing the invention; f

Fig. 2 is'an under plan View of one corner of the bed-bottom shown on a larger scale; .l Fig. 3 vis, a cross section taken on line 3 3 of Fig.'2; Y' j i Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken on line 4.-4ofFig-2. y

Like reference characters designate the same parts wherever rthey occur in all the figures.'`

The structure in which the new features of the invention are embodied is'supported atv opposite ends -by the kend rails a, and Vb of a supporting frame. These end rails mayrbe connected together and held at a given distance apart, against the tension of the intermediate 'structure' by side bars c and `corner brackets d, of which one is shown in Fig. 4like those of certain well known commercial types of bed spring, or by other'suitfabrics connected at opposite ends by horizontal abl'erneans.` vThe invention involvesnothing new in the supporting frame. v Such side bars. and

lcorner brackets are omitted from Fig. 1 for clearness. The novelty of the invention resides in the intermediate structure, designated as awhole by the reference letter e-infFig. 1, which is connected with'the end rails byhelical springs f, f, and in the combination thereof. with a supporting frame of any suitable character.

VThe. intermediate structure 'above referred to, whichmay be called also the `bottom fabric of the bed spring combination, consists of straps'or bars g,`g", a topcoveringh of textile fabric, and a bottom vcovering sheet also of textile fabric.' The straps or bars g, g1', are of metal, preferably steel, having sufficient resilience, elasticity and stiffnessv toi support the weight of a reclining human body without excessive sagging and vto return to substantially straight condition after removal of the weight. Straps approximately 1" or 11A" in width of 22 lgauge metal with a spacing of from 11/2" to 1% between` center lines, have the qualities necessary to serve these purposes. AThe outermost straps g', which lie at the side edges of the structure, are preferably made wider and thicker thanrthe intermediate straps g, for in' stance 11/2" wideand'of 16 'gauge thickness, in

order to prevent the effect, which has been an objectionable feature of many bed springs-heretofore put out, of becoming loose and sagging asv the result of thevuser of the bed sitting on kits edge.' In furtherance 'of this object, two of the springs fA arev connected to' veach end ofthe outermost straps g', while vone spring onlyfis connected to `each end cf the intermediate straps'g. In other words, the outermost straps are supported'and pulled upon with 'a stronger spring tension than the intermediate straps.

, The covering sheets hl and y are' made of a suitablyf'strong' and. closely* woven Vtextile fabric,l for instance 8' ounce bed ticking made 'according to United States Government specifications for dustproof and air-proof fabric. They are'sewed'together lby longitudinal rows of stitching Vlc spaced wdelyenough from one another to leave channels, open at both 'ends of the fabric, -in which -the straps g are placed, and from which the ends straps in order that the pockets, so formed, while being wide enough to permit easy insertion Vof the straps endwise, yet will otherwise be as narrow as possible so-asto prevent tipping or canting of the straps edgewise. Due to the medial connection of the inner straps g with the springs f through the holes 1', this connection would be incapable of preventing tipping up of the straps upon localized pressure being applied midway between the adjacent straps. Such edgewise tipping of the straps is positively precluded since should pressure be concentrated midway between any two straps, the seams, due to their close propinquity to the edges of the straps or bands, will act to prevent edgewise tipping of the straps and thus insure the bed bottom maintaining a smooth, continuous contact surface for the mattress vor cushion. However, the top sheet h is made both longer and wider than the area of the spring bottom as a whole, and its ends are wrapped about transverse reinforcing rods Z and turned under the main body of the sheet, to which they are stitched by seams m and n. The length of the top sheet between the points at which itV passes around the outer sides of the reinforcing rod is approximatelyequal to the length of the straps y, gr', so that in the assembled fabric the reinforcing rods and enveloping parts of the fabric covering sheet lie approximately over the ends of -the straps. The sides of the top sheet are wrapped about the outermost straps g" and secured to the main part of the sheet by seams o.

The springs f, f are made, conformably to common practice, with hooks f', at opposite ends, one of which passes through a hole b in the end rail b ofthe supporting frame, and the other through a hole, reinforced "bya grommet p, in the cover h, and through an alined hole r in the metal subjacent end of the metal strap. YThe grommets p. are set in the cover h in a row close to the reinforcing rod Z and with a spacing equal tothat of the straps. Thus: when the straps are in place and assembled with the cover fabrics, the holes in both are sufficiently accurately alined to permit the hooks of the springs to be readily passed through them; the holes being preferably somewhat larger in diameter than the Wire of which the springs are made. A somewhat closer spacing is provided for the holes in the ends of the outermost straps g than the centerline spacing between the intermediate straps, and the registering holes of the cover fabric are spaced accordingly. r

The cover sheet h provides a continuous and smooth layer between themetal straps or bands and the overlying mattress or cushion, bridging over the spaces between the straps. The width, flatness and close spacing ofl the metal straps cooperate with'the bridging effect of the cover sheet toy prevent breaking of the fibers in the mattress stuffing yand protrusion of any part of Athe mattress between the metal elements of the bottom fabric. `A very serious difficulty heretofore has been the rapid deterioration of bed and couch mattresses dueto the destructive effect of the bed springs heretofore used. Those of the types in almost Juniversal use` present Widely separated wires in Contact with the under side of the mattress; These maybe the ends of helical springs in Va boxspring, or the wires of a reticulated bottom fabric suspended by springs at the ends. They support the mattress only along the lines where the wires extend, leaving Wide spaces which are unsupported. The supporting reaction therefore is applied on narrow areas, which are hardly wider than lines, and on which the concentraytion of force due to the weight and movements 'of the occupant of the bed causes the-'fibers of the mattress stufling, whether they be those of a hair mattress, or a kapok (so-called silk oss) mattress, or a felt layer underlying the springs of an inner spring mattress, to be broken into short lengths. The unsupported parts of the mattress then bulge between the wires of the under fabric, making the mattress uncomfortable. This effect occurs rapidly with mattresses of the best quality as well as with those of inferior quality. I have removed the cause of this diffrcuity by the construction-'of -my bed bottom herein described, which gives a wide and substantially uninterrupted support to the mattress and leaves no openings through which any part of it, whether stun-lng, springs, etc. can protrude.

The upper cover sheet protects the mattress from being stained by the metal straps, and the two sheets together make a practically impervious barrier against the passage of lint from the mattress to the floor beneath the bed. However, the amount of lint, broken pieces of hair, etc. coming'from the mattress is greatly reduced on Aaccount of -the' protective effect above described. In short, the newl structureY provides a smooth fiatV bed` bottom which possesses inherent Vstiffness tending-f to holdk it at and resist bending, but at the same time sufficiently yielding for the comfort of the'occupant.

An important feature is the end construction of the composite'fabric, whereby the cover as well as the straps is directly hooked and coupledto the springs. Thus the springs holdithe cover fabric out flat, preventing its ends. from working in and leaving the ends of the straps exposed, and likewise preventing the cover from working into folds and wrinkles. The rods Z at the ends of the coverv reinforce it and distribute thepullof the springs uniformly across its width; holding it'sedge flush, or approximately so, with theY ends of the straps and preventing any excessive strain being appliedto the cloth or the steel bandsat any point.

Not only does this spring preserve the mattress as` above described, but its comparative stiffness and coherence makes it ideal for the beds of personssuering from spinal disorders. It is the most uniform and level mattress foundation produced commercially up to the present time and, while being sufciently flexible, yet does not yield locally, and so gives needed support to an injured or abnormal spine, which promotes restoration of the spine to correct condition.

I What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: Y

1. A bed bottom of the'class described having in combination with a frame Vand attaching springs, a multiplicity of closely spaced resilient fiat supporting straps, said straps having their flat sides presented upwardly throughout the area of the bed'bottom, a pair of parallel disposed cover clothes stitched together to provide longitudinal channels in which are positioned the supporting straps, reinforcing rods extending transversely of the ends of the straps, the upper cover cloth being longer than the lower cloth andbent around the reinforcing rods soA as to extend inwardly adjacent the upper surface of the straps and connected to the under part of the main body of the upper cloth by transverse stitching, the straps at each end and the upper cloth along its transverse edges being provided with means directlyconnecting the straps and cloth to said springs whereby to maintain the cloth and straps continuously under tension, and provide a smooth continuous mattress contact surface, said cloth longer than the distance between said reinforcing rods and bent around such rods so las to extend inwardly from the adjacent ends of the straps,V

and being connected to the niain body or the same cloth by transversestitching, the straps at each end and the cloth which isthus bent around the reinforcing rods being provided with registering means inward from the rods directly cong necting the straps and cloth to said springs whereby to maintain` the cloth and straps continuously vunder' tension and provide a smooth continuous flat supporting surface. Y

Y IRVING H. STERN. 

